Here's something you might be interested in.
With opera season over, I've moved my running schedule back to evenings and have been enjoying the sunsets at Mission Beach, Torrey Pines, and Sunset Cliffs.
Since I don't prefer to wear earphones while running, sometimes I'll get myself pumped up with some music in the car. Lately the opening of Vaughan Williams's A Sea Symphony has been working for me.
A Sea Symphony was Vaughan Williams's first symphony. He uses chorus and soprano and baritone soloists throughout. The text is taken from Walt Whitman's Sea Drift which was included in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass.
This music immediately grabs the listener with a brass fanfare as the chorus sings "Behold the sea itself!"
As I run in the evenings, I'm always happy to see people lined up along the cliffs or the boardwalk to watch the sunset. They are there to observe beauty. They got in their cars and drove the 20 minutes to the beach in order to experience the beauty of a sunset.
Why isn't the entire county there?
If there is one thing that is consistently missing in our lives, it could be beauty. I'm not talking about pretty or nice. Milk and toast.
Where do we experience beauty in our lives? At work? At Costco? At a bar? On television? Where does the average person encounter beauty?
I've had two friends recently encounter beauty or the lack thereof.
One told me that she had a major, personal, discovery. While on a run she realized that beauty was all around her and she was missing it--had been missing it for years.
The other shared that while at the grocery store, he turned a corner and saw a woman. "Her legs were--I can't say, they were just--I mean I wasn't feeling lustful but there was just something about the shape of her legs."
I said, "They were beautiful."
"Yes, that's it!"
Beauty is there waiting for anyone who wants to see it. I'm not sure how this relates to the opening of A Sea Symphony except that besides being powerful, it has beauty.
There are two recordings of A Sea Symphony that stand out. The first is with Sir Adrian Boult conducting. The other is with Bernard Haitink conducting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXMckYZT-8g&feature=related
With opera season over, I've moved my running schedule back to evenings and have been enjoying the sunsets at Mission Beach, Torrey Pines, and Sunset Cliffs.
Since I don't prefer to wear earphones while running, sometimes I'll get myself pumped up with some music in the car. Lately the opening of Vaughan Williams's A Sea Symphony has been working for me.
A Sea Symphony was Vaughan Williams's first symphony. He uses chorus and soprano and baritone soloists throughout. The text is taken from Walt Whitman's Sea Drift which was included in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass.
This music immediately grabs the listener with a brass fanfare as the chorus sings "Behold the sea itself!"
As I run in the evenings, I'm always happy to see people lined up along the cliffs or the boardwalk to watch the sunset. They are there to observe beauty. They got in their cars and drove the 20 minutes to the beach in order to experience the beauty of a sunset.
Why isn't the entire county there?
If there is one thing that is consistently missing in our lives, it could be beauty. I'm not talking about pretty or nice. Milk and toast.
Where do we experience beauty in our lives? At work? At Costco? At a bar? On television? Where does the average person encounter beauty?
I've had two friends recently encounter beauty or the lack thereof.
One told me that she had a major, personal, discovery. While on a run she realized that beauty was all around her and she was missing it--had been missing it for years.
The other shared that while at the grocery store, he turned a corner and saw a woman. "Her legs were--I can't say, they were just--I mean I wasn't feeling lustful but there was just something about the shape of her legs."
I said, "They were beautiful."
"Yes, that's it!"
Beauty is there waiting for anyone who wants to see it. I'm not sure how this relates to the opening of A Sea Symphony except that besides being powerful, it has beauty.
There are two recordings of A Sea Symphony that stand out. The first is with Sir Adrian Boult conducting. The other is with Bernard Haitink conducting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXMckYZT-8g&feature=related